Process of treating ores.



A. A. LOGKWOOD & M. R. A. SAMUN PROCESS OF TREATING 018E8- APPLICATIONFILED JAN. 11; 1909.

933 ,717, Patented Sept. 7, 1909.

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UNITE STATES ALFRED ARTHUR LOCKWOOD AND MARCUS REGINALD ANTHONY SAMUEL,OF LONDON,

ENGLAND.

PROCESS OF TREATING ORES.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, ALFRED ARTHUR Looxwoon, chemist, and MARCUSREGINALD ANTHONY SAMUEL, merchant, subjects of the King of GreatBritain, both residing at- 12 Minories, in the city of London, England,have invented new and useful Processes of Treating Ores, of which thefollowing is a specification.

The accompanying drawing is a diagram, with most of the parts insection, of an apparatus which may be employed in the practice of ourinvention.

This invention relates to the treatment of ores, tailings, concentratesor the like for rendering the constituent parts of ores which arenon-magnetic or non-magnetizable or only slightly so separable by meansof magnetic separators.

According to this invention an ore (by which term there is intended tobe included tailings, concentrates or the like) is mixed with particlesof a magnetic (by which term there is intended to be included anymagnetizable substance) substance and a liquid under conditions suchthat the liquid adheres to some constituent part or parts of the ore inpreference to the others causing such part and the particles to adheretogether.

The details of the results of the following experiment show how theprocess may be carried out in practice. 200 lbs. of Broken Hill. zinctailings containing about 18.78 zinc, 5.14 lead having passed through a40 mesh screen were treated as follows :*The ore was fed into anagitator with about lbs. water to which was added 1000 grains sulfuricacid. To this pulp was added about 10 lbs. of magnetic paint made bymixing two parts by weight of finely ground cast iron with one part ofoil gas tar (which is a residual oil obtained in the manufacture of oilgas). The agitation was continued for a few minutes and additional waterwas then run into the agitator and the pulp was fed into a magneticseparating apparatus. On testing a handful of the tailings so treatedwith a hand magnet, it was found that on contact it removed nearly allthe metalliferous particles, a small percentage only being not affected.

It may sometimes be desirable especially when the constituent part ofthe ore it is desired to separate consists of fine particlesSpecification of Letters Patent.

Application filed January 11, 1909.

Patented Sept. 7, 1909.

Serial No. 471,717.

as in the case of some gold quartz) to mix tie ground wet quartz withcoarser particles of the magnetic substance to which sufiicient of theadhesive liquid has been added to cause the fine particles to adhere tothe magnetic particles.

The percentage of the adhesive liquid and of the magnetic particles maybe varied to suit the particular method of separation or concentrationto be employed. It is obvious that the stronger the magnetic field theless magnetic particles will be required, and the liner the magneticparticles the larger the surface exposed to the magnetic field.

In the practical application of this invention a few experiments may benecessary to gage the best percentages to use, taking into account thesize of the particles to be separated, the separating device to be usedand the power of the field.

The separation of the treated particles from the other constituent partsof the ore can be effected in any suitable manner either wet or dry. Insome cases it may not be necessary to add magnetic particles as the oremay either by nature or by reason of a suitable treatment containsufiicient, when the ore is mixed with an adhesive liquid as described,for a greatly improved extraction to take place; the magnetic andnonmagnetic metalliferous particles adhering together as beforedescribed.

In the drawings which show apparatus of known construction A is a vesselprovided with an agitator a.

a is a valve through which the ore mixed with water, oil and magneticsubstance passes to a chute B into a magnetic separator. The separatorconsists of a tank C divided into two compartments 0 and c by means of apartition 0 0 is a pipe opening into the compartment 0 and through whichwater is forced.

0 is a discharge pipe issuing from the bottom of the compartment 0 andprovided with a regulating valve 0 c is a conduit for receiving theparticles of ore.

D is a drum capable of rotation on a stationary shaft 0? and made of ametal such as brass.

E is a system of electromagnets connected to the shaft (2?.

The ore flows into the compartment 0 when it is met by a current ofwater rising from the pipe The magnetic particles on passing thepartition 0 are influenced by the magnet system by which the magneticparticles are drawn upward from out of the our- 5 rent of water againstthe drum D sticking to it as far as the magnet system extends and thenfalling into the conduit 0. The non magnetic particles sink to thebottom and are discharged through the pipe 0*.

WVhat we claim is 1. The process of treating ores, which consists inmixing with the ore a sufficient quantity of a magnetic substance and anadhesive non-metallic liquid adapted to cause the magnetic substance toadhere to some constituent part of the ore in preference to the others,and which renders it capable of separation by a magnetic separator, andthen magnetically separating the particles thus adhered.

r 2. The process of treating ores, which consists is mixing an ore witha magnetic substance and an oily liquid adapted to cause the magneticsubstance to adhere to some 2 constituent part of the ore in preferenceto the others, and then magnetically separating the mixture.

3. The process of treating ores, which consists in mixing the ore with amagnetic substance and oil gas tar which causes the magnetic substanceto adhere to some constituent part of the ore in preference to theothers,

and then magnetically separating the mixture.

4:- The process of treating ores, which consists in mixing an ore withan acid, a magnetic substance and a non-metallic liquid adapted to causethe magnetic substance to adhere to some constituent part of the ore inpreference to the others and then magnetically separating the mixture.

5. The process of treating ores, which consists in mixing the ore withan acid, a magnetic substance and an oily liquid adapted to causethemagnetic substance to adhere to some constituent part of the ore inpreference to the others, and then magnetically separating the mixture.

6. The process of treating ores, which consists in mixing an ore with anacid, a magnetic substance, and oil gas tar which with the magneticsubstance is adapted to adhere to some constituent part of the ore inprefer ence to the others, and then magnetically separating the mixture.

7. The process of treating ores, which consists in causing non-magneticmetalliferous particles to adhere with magnetic particles by means of anon-metallic liquid which with the magnetic particles is adapted to ad-7

